Road freight association Transporting New Zealand is welcoming the announcement of planned changes to road user rules which it supports because they reflect common practice.

The Minister of Transport has announced a number of road rule changes to come into effect later this year, including permitting children aged 12 and under to ride bicycles on the footpath, and e-scooters being allowed to use cycle lanes.

“Transporting New Zealand supports these common sense changes which are essentially legalising what is already fairly common practice,” says Transporting New Zealand Policy and Advocacy Advisor Mark Stockdale. “It’s safer for young children to ride on footpaths than on the road, and many already do so, and likewise e-scooter riders are better off on dedicated cycle lanes than sharing the road with larger vehicles.” 

The proposed rule changes will also introduce a requirement for drivers to leave a minimum gap of 1.5 metres when overtaking.

“We cautiously supported this proposal because it encourages good practice, however we think it will be difficult to enforce, while not all of New Zealand’s road network is wide enough to permit 1.5m passing gaps for all traffic types such as passing tractors on narrow rural roads. We were pleased to see our feedback on this point and others was acknowledged in the summary of submissions,” Stockdale said. “Transporting New Zealand also welcomes the Ministers announcement that proposed changes to council enforcement of parking on berms won’t proceed, which we strongly opposed as it would have resulted in vehicle operators being unaware of any prohibitions,” Stockdale added.